A new communal garden at Frasers Property Australia’s Five Farms in Clyde North has quickly become a bustling heart of the community.
Located at the Allendale Residents’ Club, planting at the garden began in winter with a series of gardening workshops facilitated by non-profit Cultivating Community and residents are now reaping the benefits, literally, with a first harvest of parsley, spinach, mint, dill, coriander and rosemary.
Summer crops have now gone in, with tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum and chilli set to be available for residents during the warmer months.
Resident Tino Chinyemba joined the gardening workshops with her children and was thrilled with the knowledge they acquired and the opportunity to grow their own food.
“Five months ago, I was a garden enthusiast eager to learn more about food gardening in Melbourne. Now? I’m confidently harvesting spinach, kale, lettuce, coriander, parsley, silverbeet, and celery. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as eating from your own labour, and my kids are right there learning alongside me,” she said.
“Here’s what surprised me most: I’ve learned just as much as the kids. Understanding fertiliser use, accepting failure, being pragmatic about seasonal conditions, mastering composting. These are life lessons in patience, adaptability, and working with nature.”
Tino said her children fully embraced the experience, with the family pets being bonus beneficiaries.
“Building wicker beds became a family project. The kids’ motivation? Fresh herbs for their guinea pigs, Toast and Shadowflake! We learnt about composting and exactly how to get started. We’ve returned our green bin, and the kids are now managing our home compost.”
Five Farms Community Development Coordinator Nicole Dalby said it was gratifying to see residents swing by the garden to collect something to go with dinner but equally pleasing to see new connections forming within the fledgling community.
“It’s not only an incredibly apt inclusion given Five Farms, as its name suggests, is located on the site of a former farming community, but it’s just been so special to see people meet for the first time at one of the gardening workshops, and then go on to make friendships,” she said.
“We work hard to deliver and facilitate the infrastructure people need to make a neighbourhood home, from playgrounds like Silo Park, A Livvi’s Place to facilities like our Allendale Residents’ Club, but we work equally hard on ensuring that there’s plenty of activities and events to create that intangible piece of the puzzle – connection.”
Celebration of Neighbour Day, Easter and Christmas, and the likes of women’s business networking meetings and Meet Your Neighbours events, also help solidify those connections.
A co-working space at the Allendale club is another way residents – particularly those who work from home – can make social connections.
The first residents moved into Five Farms in 2024. When complete, Five Farms will comprise approximately 1,600 homes along with a proposed town centre with supermarket, café and specialty shops.
Land lots now available for purchase within Five Farms, ranging in price from $377,500 for a 287m2lot to $590,000 for a 512 m2lot.
The Five Farms Sales Centre is located at 100 Wild Goose Way, Clyde North. It’s open from 11am to 5pm daily. Phone Frasers Property on 13 38 38 or visit fivefarms.com.au.
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